This is still me ❤️

True Crime articles will now be posted on Thursdays I can't tell you how good it is to be back reading articles on Medium. I honestly noticed a massive dip in my motivation without them. I've read so many inspiring articles recently, that I currently have 50 saved on my list, but today I am going to share the 5 that pulled me out of my funk this week. I'll start with You Are Not Alone by Kristin Austin. For some time now, I've been trying to think of a way to capture how I am feeling. I've tried mood tracker apps but I find them to be quite limited, so when I read Kristin's article, I was intrigued by the image at the top of the article. Graphics show what she was thinking and what she was feeling, as well as her mindset while writing. Where do I get myself this? That is when I discovered 750 words . I'll let you read the article for the full details. "Suddenly, although I was travelling my scary treacherous life path, I was no longer alone. Big

It’s been a struggle this week. Jet lag, trying to get back into a routine and the huge list of things I would “do when I am back from holiday” is now looming over me. That’s why doing this weekly gratitude exercise is so important to me, as, despite all the things that haven’t gone as planned, which seem far easier to remember, many things went right this week. Joining my first workshop On Wednesday evening, I attended an online workshop with Writing Launch. Jacob & Ian very kindly gave an hour of their time, free of charge, to go through how to pitch an article to a magazine. Not only that, but they also offered a great package which includes a list of nearly 2000 publications to write for, mentoring and access to their entire catalogue of courses. The cost is $47 per month (around £40) however, you get the first month for free and can cancel at any time. Of course, I snapped up the generous offer and plan to start earning money again as soon as possible. Getting back in

If you read yesterday's article , you’ll know that I’m back from holiday and rather than being full of self-assurance, I'm battling with self-doubt. Yesterday morning, I begrudgingly got out of bed, looked through my to-do list and very quickly decided it was going to be another slow day, reminding myself that it was perfectly ok, although I wasn’t entirely convinced. I decide to read some articles on medium, which I find to be much better for my mind than scrolling through Tik Tok (which I did for the first time this week for longer than I care to admit!) I’m so thankful I did. I came across Alex Mather’s article If you work for yourself and have self-doubt read this “emotions of doubt, are based not on reality, but on our thoughts.” Yes! Everything swimming through my head was all about a failure that hadn’t yet happened, after all, how can you fail at getting work as a writer when you haven’t even submitted any work or made any applications?? Calley Overtons artic

This is my 700th post on Medium 🥳 I think I’ve come a long way since my first post Welcome To My Blog In yesterdays post, I shared 5 Steps To Setting Goals & Some Useful Tools & Tips Here are 5 articles I found on Medium that also provide some useful information around goal setting In the post What Do You Want? from Gustavo Gallina, we are reminded; “Dreams should be pursued. Set objectives and strive toward them.” In 3 Ways To Make Habits Stick Sobaan Saeed, also talks about failure “You’re gonna fail, you’re gonna screw up but if you show up with that positive attitude every day and just keep trying to do better that’s really all you can ask of yourself.” Daria Haller talks about self discipline in 8 Brilliant Ways To Master Your Self Discipline “don’t forget to reward yourself for your accomplishments.” Eve Arnold makes some great points in the article Why Trading Your Life Hack Mindset For Mindful Productivity Means You Wake Up Happier “Mindful prod

In yesterday's post July Reflections - What I Loved, What I Learned & How I Can Improve I shared some areas I wanted to improve on during August. I found these articles on Medium, which I will use to help me. Diana Meresc reminds me of the key habits we should all be implementing in 12 Simple Habits That Will Change Your Life “How often do you wish you had done something different in your life? Most of us get caught up in the daily hustle and bustle of our lives. That means we miss opportunities to improve ourselves every day.” Emma Carey gave me some clarity as to why I struggle to be body positive, in 7 Reasons Why Body Positivity Isn't Always A Good Thing “If you want to love who you are, you must process any trauma, difficult past events, and the emotions that come with it.” Briana Belcher gave me some great ideas on making my mornings easier in 6 Things I Do Every Night To Set Myself Up For Success In The Morning “After reading, I always check the reminders

Why haven't I learned my lesson? Last Friday morning, whilst scrolling through my phone, I was thinking about what a crappy year a lot of people were having. 2022 seemed to have brought some terrible luck for some. I then began to reflect on my 2022 and realised that a lot of pretty shit stuff happened in my life too. Why wasn't I feeling miserable? I thought more about this. There have been some extremely low times this year, but my ability to bounce back from these has reached a strength I never thought possible for me. I am not trying to make out that I am some serene, zen, being; I still have my moments, but even how I view those are different. When bad times come, I still get upset, I show my emotions, I shout, I scream, I cry for as long as I need to, but somehow, deep down, I am safe in the knowledge that things will get better and knowing that is like my lifeboat, something for me to swim towards when I am drowning in those choppy waters. On Saturday, the husband

Learning, laughing & looking ahead Other Writers I read a lot of really good articles this week. I've learned so much in such a short space of time. I've been inspired I've picked up a lot of great tips and came away with lots to think about. An afternoon with the bestie I spent an afternoon with the bestie. We had lunch in her garden in the sun and caught up on each other's lives. We always have so much to talk about and it feels like a really fun therapy session. Rejigged my routine I took away a lot of things from the articles and some of them relate to my routine. I sat down on Friday and planned not only my content for the week but also set out a rough plan for the week. I just need to remember that things don't always go to plan and that's ok. What are you grateful for this week? ♥️

Our Intention Creates Our Reality - Wayne Dyer The start of a new month brings new goals and with new goals, are new intentions. This week I’ve tried to focus on different aspects of my life, so I don’t neglect some areas as I feel I may have been. Read and comment on Medium articles This is something I’ve been trying to do each day but I want to be more concise. I’m going to read and comment on 10 articles on the Medium platform each day. Get up and move After seeing that I only closed my exercise ring on my Apple watch four times in June, I am now going to be more mindful of getting myself moving. My watch goes off every hour telling me to stand, so each time that notification goes off, I’m going to stop what I’m doing and move around. Review my morning routine I’ve been playing around with my to-do list a lot recently, trying to figure out what works well at what time of day, so it’s time to review that morning routine and get that back into play. I need those morning walks

An extract from this week’s Substack newsletter I like to start each month by looking back on the previous month to see what went well and what didn't, how I can improve, what habits worked for me and any little ways I can make my life a bit easier for myself On the surface, June was a good month, but when I look a bit deeper, I can see that it wasn't without its challenges. I'll start with the challenges and where I can improve, that way we can finish on a positive note, rather than finish thinking how rubbish I have been! Emotional Hangovers Despite knowing I suffer from these, it still doesn't stop me. At the end of this week, I suffered terribly after drinking Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday this week. It's not a regular occurrence, but it is something I need to be more aware of and consciously make an effort to have more alcohol-free days. Not putting my screens away Guilty!! I managed to do this for a few days here and there, but I am still picking up